What is a paragraph?

A. Look at the following short composition:

A Magnificent Place to Visit

The Sundarbans is a wonderful place to visit because of its variety of animals and trees. Visitors to the Sundarbans can find many different types of animals. They can find fierce tigers in the dense forest; also they can find timid deer beside the streams. They can find places which are very charming for their greeneries. Thus visitors can find the varied wildlife in the forest. They can find mangroves and low dells. They can also find its beautiful rivers and a beautiful coast. So the sundarbans is one of the most wonderful places to visit for its natural beauty.

This is a paragraph. A paragraph is a group of sentences organized around an important topic. The sentences in a paragraph are connected with each other.

A paragraph usually consists of one topic sentence, some developers (supporting sentences), and a terminator (a concluding sentence).

1. Topic Sentence: The central idea of a paragraph is called the topic. The topic sentence introduces the main idea of your paragraph.
2. Developers: The developers are the sentences placed between the topic sentence and the last sentence in a paragraph. They develop the topic sentence through elaboration, exemplification, classification, and so forth. That is, they expand and support the idea stated in the topic sentence.
3. Terminator: The terminator is the last sentence in a good paragraph. It
   logically concludes the ideas developed through the developers of the paragraph. In other words, the terminator can restate the ideas put in the topic sentence .It can also present a quick summary of what has already been discussed. Actually the terminator completes the writer's description of the subject or topic.

In the above paragraph the first sentence introduces the central idea. So, it is the topic sentence. The next six sentences support the topic sentence; they are the developers. The last sentence restates the idea of the topic sentence and completes the writer's description. So it is the terminator.

Now we will learn how to develop a paragraph by answering questions.

Write a paragraph on 'your mother' answering the following questions:

How old is your mother?

What is her occupation?

How many brothers and sisters do you have?

What does your mother do for you in the whole day?

What are your duties to your mother?

My mother

My mother is a wonderful person. She is about 38 years old. She is a school teacher. She comes from a respectable family. She is sober and affectionate. I have one brother and one sister. I am the youngest. Mother takes great care of our education, food and clothing. Her anxiety knows no bound when any of us becomes sick. My mother says her prayers regularly. Every now and then, she cooks delicious food and prepares different kinds of sweets. She keeps the house neat and clean. She always gives us good advice and suggestions. She advises us not to quarrel with anybody, not to steal and never to tell a lie. She tells us to love our country and our relatives. I always try to help my mother in her work. We should obey and love our mother as she is doing her best for us. To me, she is the best person.

B. Read the following Paragraphs based on the given questions:

1. Topic: A Bus Stand
   Questions:
   a) What type of place is a bus stand?
   b) Why do people wait at a bus stand?
   c) What type of people do you find at a bus stand?
   d) What type of difficulties do you find at a bus stand?
   e) What type of hawkers do you find at a bus stand?

A Bus Stand

A bus stand is a very important place to those who travel by bus from one place to another. It is a place where buses stop for some time to help passengers to get in and off. Especially the bus stands in a city or town always remain busy. Passengers are always found waiting there. When a bus stops at such a stand, there is an unusual bustle and hurry among the passengers. Some others hurry to get down from the bus, while passengers waiting for the bus want to get into it. As a result, there is a always great rush of passengers. In such a situation the old and the weak find it difficult to get into or get off the bus. The scene often goes so far that passengers seem hostile with one another. Taking advantage of this situation pickpockets sometimes pick the pockets of the passengers. Moreover, shouts of conductors, bus-helpers make the place noisy. These are the usual sights of a bus stand during the busy hours of the day. Besides, hawkers are often found busy selling their goods like cigarettes, betel-leaves, newspapers, fruits and so on. A bus stand is always a busy place.

Topic: My favourite bird
Questions:
a) What is your favourite bird and where do you meet it?
b) How does a sparrow look?
c) Where does it make its nest?
d) Why do you like a sparrow?
e) What does a sparrow like to eat?

My Favourite Bird

A sparrow, peeping through my window, is something that makes me very happy. Every morning, when I wake up, I see the sparrow, playing in the tree, outside my window. I have been hearing its sound ever since I was a child. So it has become my favourite bird. The sparrow has a brown and white body with a tiny head. This makes it a lovely and sweet bird. It has a short, strong and sharp beak, which helps it to collect food and make nests in trees and in the corners of the houses. It likes to live in ventilators of a house, where it builds its home. It gathers tiny and light material for its home. It eats insects and worms. I hope Mr. Sparrow continues to visit my window every day of my life.

Topic: Preparing a Cup of Tea
Questions:
a) What will you do first to make a cup of tea?
b) What will you do next?
c) How much time do you need to prepare a cup of tea?
d) Why do some people have saccharin instead of sugar?
e) Do all types of people prefer the same kind of tea?

Preparing A Cup of Tea

It is an easy task to prepare a cup of tea. First, pour a cup of water in a pot, then put it on fire and bring it to boil. When it is boiled for a while, put one tea-spoon of tea-leaf or tea-powder in it and continue to boil it for a little longer. Then put the liquor in a tea-cup through a strainer. Then add one or two tea-spoons of milk and sugar as you like. The tea is prepared. But there may be varieties of tea for varieties of tastes. Some people may prefer tea without milk or sugar or may have them in different proportions. Some may add a little lemon juice to liquor instead of sugar and milk. Some may have either dark liquor or light liquor. Some would have saccharin instead of sugar for health reasons. It mostly takes five to ten minutes to prepare a cup of tea.

4. Topic: How to Make A Garden
   Questions:
   a) What will you do first when you decide to make a garden?
   b) What will you do regularly to keep your plants lively?
   c) What makes your garden healthy?
   d) How do you increase the fertility of your garden?
   e) Why do you need a fence?

How to make A Garden

To make a garden you have to follow certain procedures. First select a suitable piece of land. It can be in front of your reading room. Shovel, loosen and level the soil with a garden spade. Next, fence the land so that naughty boys and animals are unable to harm it. After that you should sow the seeds of different flowers of different seasons and plant many kinds of flower plants in it. Good seeds and plants are needed for a healthy garden. Finally you should work in the garden every morning and afternoon. Water the plants frequently. Weed your garden regularly to keep it neat and clean. Apply manure to the plants regularly to keep the soil fertile. Use pesticides so that harmful insects cannot do any harm to the plants and flowers. In city life, pot planting is a common way for city dwellers to have their gardens in a small space. All they need is a deck, a roof, or a tiny patch of well-lit space to start their own small garden following the same process.

5. Topic: Perseverance
   Questions:
   a) What is perseverance?
   b) How do you acquire perseverance?
   c) Why should we practice perseverance?
   d) What should we do to practice perseverance?
   e) Name a great person who practiced perseverance in life.

Perseverance

Perseverance means persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving a goal. To develop the quality one requires regular practice of it.

Only a patient person with a strong determination can achieve his goal by perseverance. When a child learns to stand up and tries to walk, he is found to fall down again and again. But at one time he succeeds in walking. Similarly, a man having perseverance can succeed in life in spite of his repeated failures. A persevering person has tremendous self- confidence, indomitable determination, and a natural urge towards hard labour which paves his way to success. In spite of having intelligence and genius, he can hardly prosper in life if he is averse to diligence. In this world, all the great things have been possible only by perseverance. Shakespeare did not compose his voluminous works just in a day. He had to work hard days and nights with tremendous perseverance. In every sphere of life perseverance is the root of success and glory. Therefore, perseverance must be practiced from the very childhood so that this noble habit becomes a part and parcel of one's life.

6. Topic: Traffic Jam
   Questions:
   a) Why are the roads becoming narrow now?
   b) What are the main reasons of traffic jam?
   c) When do you find traffic jam most acute?
   d) What measures can be taken to lessen traffic jam?
   e) How can we stop road accidents?

Traffic Jam

Traffic jam has become a common sight now-a-days. Basically, it occurs because of the heavy number of vehicles. But in our country, there are other causes too.
The roads are mostly narrow and damaged. There are often garbage and building materials dumped on the roads. There are many unauthorised roadside shops. Often because of political meetings and processions, roads are blocked. There is a tendency with drivers to overtake and disobey traffic rules. Slow-moving and swift-moving vehicles race with each other. These also cause traffic jams. Traffic jams are most acute during working hours or examination times. To stop road accidents traffic rules should be enforced. If correct steps are not taken, city life will become very unfriendly in the future.

7. Topic: Global Warming
   Questions:
   a) What is the main reason for global warming?
   b) Why is the heat confined in the earth?
   c) Why are ecologists feeling apprehensive now-a-days?
   d) What can we do for the prevention of pollution of environment?
   e) How do forests contribute to our life?

Global Warming

Now-a-days global warming has become a danger to all living beings on earth. Greenhouse effect is responsible for global warming. It is the gradual warming of the air because of heat being stuck on earth. Environmental pollution works behind global warming. We are destroying our tropical rain forests and growing industries, mills and factories, using CFC gas at present. Thus, we are polluting our environment. For the destruction of forests and cutting down of trees, the amounts of carbon dioxide are increasing. The increased amounts of carbon dioxide around the earth have made a layer in space. The sun rays are coming through the layer but the heat cannot pass through the layer. This is why the heat is being confined on earth and it is making our globe warmer. As a result, the heat of the world is increasing day by day. It has made ecologists think about the alarming consequences. We should stop the pollution of the environment and save our living place from global warming.

8. Topic: My Birthday Party
   Questions:
   a) When did you celebrate your birthday?
   b) Who were the guests at the party?
   c) When did the party start?
   d) How was the party?
   e) How did the friends enjoy the party?

My Birthday Party

Yesterday, I celebrated my birthday. I invited some of my classmates and neighbours. My friends arrived at 5pm. They all greeted me with good wishes and presents. I took them to the garden, where we played for an hour. At 6p.m we got ready for the celebration. I blew out the candles and cut a chocolate cake which was a birthday gift from my parents. Everyone sang the birthday song and clapped their hands. I distributed the cake pieces along with sandwiches, patties, biscuits and fruit salad. Then we all drank cold fruit juice. There were various kinds of games for which prizes were given to the winners. The children were each given a packet of sweets and a box of colour pencils as return gifts. It was a wonderful party. I shall always remember this special day.

9. Topic: My Favourite Book
   Questions:
   a. What is your favourite book?
   b. Why do you like the book?
   C. Which character do you like most?
   d. Why do you like the character most?
   e. What happened last in the story?

My Favourite Book

The Elephant Man is my favourite book. I never get tired of reading it. This is the story of a poor, ugly man. Nobody loved him. Everyone laughed at him. They put him in a cage, like an animal at the zoo. Then one day a doctor saw him and thought, 'This poor man is interesting. I want to study him.' In course of time, the Elephant Man became famous, and everyone wanted to meet him. I like this elephant man most because he was able to change himself into an important person.

10. Topic: Country Life and City Life
    Questions:
    a) Compare city life and country life.
    b) How is the life in a city?
    c) How is life in a village?
    d) Which life is more hectic?
    e) How can we improve our society?

Country Life and City Life

Man is living both in cities and villages. Cities have prospered but the importance of country life has not lessened. In this modern competitive world, needs in city life have increased because most of the modern facilities are still found in the cities. The development of the society depends both on the development of cities and villages. Cities produce useful things with the raw materials supplied by the villages. In the cities, life is very hectic and competitive and people live in a programmed environment. On the other hand, in the villages, environment is fresh and easy. Modern facilities are available in the cities only. Most of the villages lack modern facilities. For good medical facilities and higher degrees, people have to go to the cities. In the cities, people lead an artificial life in gigantic buildings. But in the villages, one can lead a humble life in the lap of nature. Despite various merits and demerits, both lives have their charms. We can improve our society by developing both cities and villages.

C. Now write paragraphs on the given topics by answering the given questions :

1. Topic: A Child and a Flower
   Questions:
   a) Which two things are very innocent in this world?
   b) Why do a child and a flower need care?
   c) How does a flower motivate a cruel person?
   d) How do a flower and a child make the atmosphere beautiful?
   e) How is a child similar to a flower?
2. Topic: Coffee and Tea
   Questions:
   a) In which country did tea grow first?
   b) Where did coffee grow first?
   c) How do coffee and tea help in our daily life?
   d) How do we drink coffee and tea?
   e) How do we harvest tea and coffee?
3. Topic: Your First Day at School
   Questions:
   a) What is the most important day in your life?
   b) When did you go there for the first time?
   c) With whom did you go to school on the first day?
   d) How did you go to school on the first day?
   e) How did you feel on that day?
4. Topic: Your Aunt
   Questions:
   a) What is the name of your aunt?
   b) How old is she?
   c) Where does she live?
   d) What does she do?
   e) Why do you like your aunt?
5. Topic: Your Village
   Questions:
   a) What is the name of your village?
   b) Where is it situated?
   c) How many people are there?
   d) What is the occupation of the villagers?
   e) How do you like your village?